RMWJ: Chapter 1 Part 1

"Fuck you!"

Enter Ree Adelaide Majors, trainer of exactly forty-seven minutes, brand new owner of a snivy, lover of foul language, possessor of delusions of grandeur, and general ass.

"Sni!"

Enter Mister Snivy Whiplash, her somewhat imaginatively named starter. She would swear up and down she thought he looked like the villain from her favorite old cartoon. He simply went with it because it made him feel fanciful.

These are the creations of a twisted world, fighting against time and fate and that very same world to achieve eight shiny, senseless little gems. Their goal is not unique, and is in fact shared by most of the training population of Unova—those bright-eyed, idealistic young children, the future of the region. What sets these characters apart is their journey, their strenuous, teary, joyful, heavy, lighthearted, and fantastic journey. It will have ups, it will have downs, it will shed blood, it will shed tears, and very possibly, it will touch your heart.

So, submitted for your consideration, this is

Ree Majors' Wonderful Journey

-.-.-

Chapter One: Ree Majors' Wonderful Journey Of Failed Tests

-.-.-

"Wake up," a voice above her said. Ree groaned and buried her head deeper into the pillow. She would do no such thing; it was far too early. "Ree, wake up."

"Nngh," she replied. A very dignified response considering her level of consciousness. He should be grateful he got that much.

"I'm making pancakes," he said softly.

"I'm up." She sat up fast enough to not only convince him that she would, indeed, wake up, but also fast enough to make her head spin. Ree yawned and held her head with one hand, fingers tangling themselves in the curled, messy locks. No, not locks—more like mass. She growled, struggled to keep her eyes open, and somehow managed to slide out of bed and make her way out the door. And she only tripped once.

"When did you put clothes on?" She felt more than saw Scott follow her, amusement evident in his voice.

"Had to pee something fierce about four. And I didn't wanna stumble around your house half-naked," she deadpanned.

"Wise move, I'm sure." Not that it stopped him. Scott passed her in the hallway and beat her to the bathroom, coming back out rather helpfully with her hairbrush. He handed it to her, made sure she could hold it properly, and then grabbed her free hand. He helped her down the stairs, guided her to the kitchen table, and sat her down. So pleasant in the mornings.

Ree growled unintelligibly at him as she tried to run her brush through her hair. Easier said than done. On a good day, it was easier said than done. She was rapidly getting the feeling that even if there were pancakes, that day wasn't going to be the best.

"Use your words," Scott sang, flitting around the kitchen, retrieving bowls and a skillet as he did so.

"You're a morning person," Ree repeated grouchily. She used the phrase like a curse.

"Yes, I am. But it's getting you free breakfast, so you shouldn't be complaining."

"What about your mom?" she asked loudly to cover her stomach's growling. Pancakes sounded amazing right then. "Is she, uh, joining us?"

"No, she's doing the whole 'let's pretend my son didn't have a girl sleep over' dance, I think. Or she may have already left for work. Either way, she's thoroughly ignoring us, once again," Scott said with a laugh. He began mixing the batter, whistling as he went, until he heard a thump. He whirled around in alarm, but it was only Ree. She'd collapsed onto the table, using one arm as a pillow, the brush still stuck in her bushy hair. "Oh, come on! Wake up, sleepyhead! I'll make them chocolate chip!"

"'m 'wake," she mumbled into her wrist.

"Up!" Scott marched over and pulled her chair out and away from the table, nearly making her fall over altogether. Ree tried to smack him, but he won out in the 'who's more coordinated in the mornings' category. "Do you want the pancakes or not?"

"Give me the fucking pancakes."

"Say please and stay conscious, then."

With tremendous effort, Ree sat upright. She glared at her boyfriend with as much venom as she could manage (it was a minor miracle he didn't burst into flames) and crossed her arms over her chest. "I want food."

"You're such a delight to interact with in the mornings, really you are."

She only felt slightly guilty at that. She knew he didn't mean it—even if it was true. Still, Scott had the patience of a saint. With her, anyway. Ree felt her eyelids start to droop again after several minutes of sulky silence, and decided to offer the olive branch as well as keep herself awake by striking up a neutral conversation. "...Wait, where are your pokémon?"

"Probably still sleeping. They'll be up soon enough, once they smell the food..." Scott stepped away from the stove to check down the hall, just in case. The last thing they needed was an overly excited gigalith prancing around the kitchen. "Mom may have taken Yorick with her to work, if that's where she is..."

"I don't see how you can just let your mom take your pokémon without your knowledge."

"She's my mom. It's not like she's gonna run off with him. And remember, he was originally hers. Kind of," Scott replied simply, shrugging. "Can you get the plates out? And forks?"

Ree made a negative sound, but got up to do as he asked regardless. "Do you want me to get enough for your team?"

"No. If they're hungry, they'll come. Otherwise, I'm not setting the table for them." He hardly set the plate of pancakes on the table and got his hands out of the way before Ree attacked. She was done with one—albeit quite messily—before he'd had the chance to do more than watch in awe.

That was how she began her first day as a pokémon trainer.

-.-.-

Ree left Scott to return to an empty house. Her parents were both at work and her sister, Maya, had left just days ago on a political trip to Sinnoh. She still wasn't used to her absence. It felt like she'd scarcely gotten back from journeying for months on end, only to leave again.

Oh well. It allowed her to sing along to the radio and dance around the house like a madwoman. Two of her favorite pastimes.

After attempting to slide down the staircase banister, she settled for shaking her ass in her own room. Even if she had the house to herself, it was simply habit. "By the way, how much is the—" Ree shrieked as her heel got caught on a jacket sleeve and she was sent sprawling. Her room also happened to be the messiest. "Ow..." She sent a rebellious glare to the radio for continuing on so happily without her. "Stupid thing. Stupid coat."

The jacket said nothing to defend itself.

After her embarrassing tumble and very glad she wasn't seen, Ree decided that she ought to be responsible. Shower, clean clothes, brushed teeth and all that jazz. Another perk of being alone in the house: taking clothes off at random and walking to the bathroom naked. Just because she wouldn't do it at Scott's house didn't mean she wouldn't do it in her own home.

"What are you looking at?" she asked the stuffed heatmor on her bed. Ree chuckled and stuck her tongue out at it.

The radio switched to Vagabond of the Revolution's newest hit, and spill forgotten, she started belting out the lyrics that she knew (not even half) at the top of her lungs once more. She danced her way to the bathroom and turned what was supposed to be indie rock into a stripping song. It was a talent.

She sang all the way through the shower, and then stepped out to find a none-too-pleased liepard sitting on the rug in front of the sink. He stared at Ree with a flat expression, ears pinned back against his skull, tail whipping back and forth behind him. Ree stared innocently back, dripping onto the floor below.

"Can I get my towel?"

"Lie," the feline sniffed and tilted his head back.

"Why thank you, Aubie," Ree exclaimed with her best accent, yanking the towel off the rack with an overly dramatic flourish. The liepard remained unamused. "I'll stop singing now, promise."

"Par," he said with a sharp smile, ears perking up once more. He wagged his tail once behind him, got back up to his feet, and wandered out of the bathroom.

"Everyone's a critic," Ree sighed. She kicked the door shut behind him and began the process of fighting with her hair. It more or less won after time; it was difficult to win against a wet cotton ball. She hummed to herself, keeping in mind her promise to the family pet, and looked down at her toes as she dragged the brush through her hair. The nail polish was chipping, she noted.

She finished brushing through her hair (actually getting fed up halfway through and tying it back in a ponytail to dry instead), threw on some clean clothes, and came back out into her bedroom to find that Aubie had turned down the radio. Ree turned it back up spitefully, wondering where he'd gotten off to. He was far too smart sometimes.

"And don't touch my stuff!" she called down the hallway, just to be sure.

Ree then sat down on her bed, looking across the room at the thing she'd been putting off since yesterday—a test. The test. The one she really should have done the day before, but couldn't bring herself to. Procrastination was a terrible thing, but so was failing tests.

She got more comfortable on the bed, keeping her eyes locked onto the innocent little test. But oh no, it wasn't so innocent. She knew its dangers. It made you think it was just another test. Ree narrowed her eyes and hugged the stuffed heatmor to her chest, using it as a pillow.

She really ought to take it at some point.

Definitely soon.

And so, Ree Majors spent the next three hours playing Mario Kart.

It wasn't until Maya called her that she even remembered it lying on her desk. Ree dove for her phone—lying on the stupid little test—and eagerly picked it up when she recognized the ringtone. "Maya! Hi!"

"Hi, Ree!" The connection wasn't the greatest, but she was calling from another region. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine—fuck that. How are you? How's Sinnoh? How was the flight? Mom told me you called yesterday, but I missed you!" she whined. She missed her sister—was that a crime? Ree flopped back onto her bed, staring up at the poster- and picture-covered ceiling.

"Sinnoh's great! The beach is amazing and I wish you could've come!"

"Ha, yeah right. Working on your tan? Showing off that hot bod?"

"U-Uh, no! You know I'm not like that... Oh! I've already met most of the new gym leaders! They're so different here, Ree. Everything is! A lot of them have never even seen a serperior before!"

"Well, yeah. Unova doesn't like exporting. You need licenses both ways."

"I know, but..." She sighed. It came out as static over the line. "How's Scott?"

"He's fine. Nothing new to report, anyway."

"How's Aubie? Is he there?"

"No, he already left after trying to turn off my radio," Ree complained, glancing at the door to make sure he wasn't eavesdropping. No liepard in sight. "So, gone shopping yet? Done any tourist things? What exactly are you over there for, anyway?" She'd asked that question at least a dozen times, and had yet to receive an adequate answer.

"I'm the representative from our region." Another static-y sigh. "I'll tell you about it when I get back at the end of the week. Is there anything in particular you want from Sinnoh as a souvenir?"

"I don't know. Oh—wait—a dress."

"...A dress?"

"Yeah! Get me something cute and that's in fashion over there right now," Ree said matter-of-factly.

"Um, okay."

"Enjoy yourself, okay?"

"Oh, I will! Everyone's so hospitable and nice, and a couple of the gym leaders are pretty cute..."

"Hey, wait. Don't you have a guy waiting for you back here?"

"He's not my boyfriend! I-I—it's not like I'm—there's nothing wrong with looking!" Maya squeaked. Ree could hear the blush in her voice and couldn't help laughing at her sister's expense. "A-Anyway, Ree, I gotta go now."

"Try not to drool too much! Bye, Maya," Ree sang. Her sister was so successful, why not tease her sometimes? It was the least she could do to try to drag her back down to her level. She hung up and flipped the phone shut, casting a wary eye on the test once more. Her mood was lifted thanks to the call, so why not take it then? At least she'd go into it with a positive outlook, and isn't that supposed to improve your chances of passing or something?

With a groan, she decided to be responsible and finally take the damned thing. Then she'd go back to her normal life and video games and Scott and singing badly to annoy Aubie.

Ree ended up failing the test.

-.-.-

"So, you're applying for a trainer's license. According to this, this will not be your first time applying for one. Is there any reason in particular you're giving it another try?"

Ree smiled sweetly, trying not to look too guilty. "Uh... Fifth time's the charm?" She was fully aware of her track record, thank you. But this time, things would be different. So very much different. For one thing, she couldn't simply return home if she had a rough time of it; she'd be stuck with this journey.

The lab technician pursed his lips. Judgmentally. Her smile dropped off her face. "There isn't a limit to how many times you can apply, but it's just... You must understand why I'm asking about it."

"I know what that file must look like, but it's not that bad. My previous starters have either been given to friends or released safely back into the wild. And I'm not going to crap out again like that. Er, quit, I mean." Ree hunched her shoulders and dug her nails into her shorts, pulling on the fabric absently.

"...And it says here you're applying for a lab starter instead of catching your own."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Any reason for the change?"

"Well..." Ree scoured her mind for a good reason. "Mostly... My sister has a serperior, so I'm kinda familiar with that line. And I like novelty, so why not try something new?"

"Alright then... You just need to fill out these forms, and we'll need to take your picture for your trainer card."

"Sounds like a deal!" He began typing on the computer, and she kicked her legs aimlessly, scuffing her shoes on the floor. "So, uh... How long is this thing gonna take?"

"Oh, only a couple more minutes. The card has to print and the information has to be entered into the registry..." he replied absently, eyes still on the screen.

"Ah, sweet. Good. I can still make it to Nuvema tonight then." She grinned to herself.

"That eager to get started?"

"Well, yeah! Weren't you when you started?"

The technician paused, eyes wide behind his classes. Then, he smiled and ducked his head. "...I suppose I was. I'm so used to dealing with children... I forgot that kids your age can be excited to start training as well."

Ree scowled, affronted. "I'm not a kid. I'm legally an adult, especially with—"

"Say cheese."

"—cheese. Especially with that little card I'm about to get. Sixteen or older with a license, or three years' training experience without one. I know the rules. I'm an adult."

"You're an adult in some ways," he hummed, "but not in others. You still cannot vote, drink, or gamble until you're eighteen." Ree had naturally done all of those things. He didn't need to know that.

"I'll be eighteen next month," she waved him off. "Besides, trainer card. Instant adulthood, right?"

"Unfortunately..." Ree kicked his chair, much to his surprise. She decided he probably didn't get too much abuse in his line of work. She beamed and kicked the chair again, nearly knocking him out of it. "Okay, I get it. Stop it. Please."

"Anything else I should know before going out into the big, bad world?" the brunette asked innocently.

"Stock up before you leave and don't wear tennis shoes if you value your feet at all," the technician replied, a little more curtly than he had been earlier. She swung her legs again, just narrowly avoiding his chair. "It never hurts to have a traveling companion, either. Get a phone with a decent battery."

That reminded her; she only had one bar left on her phone. She'd just charge it in the pokémon center that night. Then again, she had wanted to actually set out that night, too... "Which starter did you pick?" she asked for a change of subject.

He looked up at her, eyes large behind his glasses again. He probably didn't come across that question in his line of work, either. "I didn't go to the lab for mine," he said after a pregnant pause, turning back to the computer beside him and pretended to read the screen. "Mine were a gift from my parents, long ago. I started off a little oddly—I received a pair of siblings as starters, two timburr who proved to be quite the handful. It's why I usually recommend to most starting trainers to work with their starter for a long period of time before rushing off to catch any other pokémon."

"Two starters?"

"And fighters," he said fondly.

Ree whistled. He had just earned a couple more respect points (but only a couple). At least not all lab techs were stuffy and bookish and boring. Not that she'd met a whole bunch. "Any other words of wisdom for me?"

"Don't push yourself, or your team, too hard or too fast. You have plenty of time. Value your pokémon—they're your friends, your family, and usually, the only thing standing between you and the hungry wild pokémon out there. And... really, don't be afraid to get dirty or bloody. It's going to happen. Don't be squeamish, especially when it comes to starving to death or self defense," he listed, counting off on his fingers. Ree bobbed her head in agreement. A lot of it was the same lessons they spouted constantly in school or on television. She wasn't some green little newbie, that was for sure, and she certainly wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty.

"That all?"

"What else do you want from me?" he asked with a dramatic sigh, pressing his hand against his forehead. "I'm simply a lab tech right now. I haven't properly been out in the field for years. The rest of it, you are going to have to learn on your own, missy."

Ree chuckled and smirked. "Fine, fine. Just..." Her snappy response died in her throat. "...Thank you." She ducked her head hastily to hide the way her throat constricted and panic momentarily overtook her. It passed, however. She'd be fine. She had done this (kind of) before. She could always call up Maya—or even Scott—no, wait, not Scott—but she had friends and family she could call for support! Not to mention how fast people seemed to make friends when off on training journeys. It was practically the national pastime.

"You're very welcome. Good luck out there, miss Majors."

"Thanks." I'll need it, she thought sourly.

She traipsed back to her house, making a second trip for a better-stocked backpack, as per his instructions. She also refilled Aubie's food dish, just to be nice, and scratched him as she whispered goodbyes to him. She didn't say goodbye to Scott. She couldn't face him and she was too impatient to get to Nuvema that day. Ree shouldered her heavy backpack and shoved her hands in her pockets. She then marched to the Center.

Since Unova was the only region that dissuaded teleportation, not to mention the only region with an actual system to more or less control it, flight was the main method of transportation by far. New trainers could also get free rides to Nuvema Town if they wanted. Airfare was cheap, anyway, but Ree gladly flashed her brand new trainer card for her free ride regardless. The braviary nipped at her, but its handler dragged it back and kept it from misbehaving further.

He helped her up onto the massive bird, then got up behind her. "Hey, uh, about how long will this take?"

"Just under an hour. Don't worry, Warren's a great flier. Fast, but super safe!" the handler said cheerfully, locking his arms around her and entwining his gloves in the saddle-like thing. Ree looked at it curiously. She had always liked birds, but had very rarely gotten to see such large ones up close. The incident at the zoo didn't count. Of course, there were wild pidove, tranquill, and even unfezant around the city, but they were so much smaller.

Braviary were pretty cool, she thought—and then, her train of thought crashed and burned completely as they flapped into the air. She couldn't help but scream and lean forward, pressing herself as much as possible into the ruddy feathers in front of her. She hated heights.

It's the fastest way, it's the fastest way, it's the fastest way, she repeated desperately, eyes screwed shut. She felt the handler shake her shoulder in concern, but she didn't dare raise herself from the semi-safety of the feathers. The hour passed by excruciatingly slowly.

By the time they landed, Ree's hearing was shot from the wind, she was sure she'd suffered several minor heart attacks, and her entire body was mercilessly sore. She nearly fell when she first slid off. She remembered the real reason why she had never bothered to get a lab starter; the flight had nearly killed her. It was only the second time she had flown by pokémon, too, but damn it all, that was going to be her last.

"Th-Thanks," she mumbled in a daze, waving off the handler's concern. The braviary made a sound that could've been a crow of laughter. At least it had been free.

Obtaining a snivy was exceedingly easy after that trial. All that was required was her trainer card and a bit more paperwork, and then she was led into an outdoor enclosure full of grass pokémon. She marveled at them. A couple she recognized, since Maya owned one, and even a little sewaddle—that had been one of her ex-starters from one of her previous attempts. She stooped to coo at it, only getting dragged away when the woman in charge of her got impatient.

"Just a warning," the woman said, "but snivy are notoriously... Well, they aren't known for their friendly temperament. More than most other species, you will have to work at earning its respect."

"Oh, no problem. Pokémon love me." Ree glanced around, still looking for any snivy. A couple deerling and a sawsbuck, as well as cotton-ball-looking things, but no serpents. A pair of patrat ran by, nearly tripping them both up.

Pokémon loved her about as much as any other trainer, but she wasn't afraid to get rough with them if that's what it took to earn their respect. Maya's snivy had been like that in the beginning, and wouldn't respect her until she had gotten fed up with him and used herself in a battle against him. It mostly involved her punting him into a tree, but it had worked marvelously. Ree had thought it hilarious at the time, too.

Finally, they found a servine. Not quite what they were looking for, but the woman didn't seem to mind. "Loco, where is he?"

"Ser," the grass pokémon replied with a smug grin, bringing up a tiny paw to snicker behind. It swung its body around and pointed with its leafy tail.

"Thank you," she said politely, and began to lead Ree away. For her part, she tried to study the servine as much as possible. She had only seen her sister's a sparse couple of times, and that had been years ago. Her snivy would evolve into that. And if she had any say in it, pretty damn soon after she got it.

"Ah, here he is."

"He?" Ree poked her head around eagerly, eyes bright. Leaning up against a tree, large eyes closed, was the snivy.

"Yes, this is a male snivy. Unnamed, of course, and still relatively young. He's fairly even-tempered, but of course, snooty if given the chance." The woman nodded down to him, and that was all the permission she needed.

She knelt down beside him, and finally, he opened his eyes. They were impossibly huge and reddish brown, although currently lidded and looking bored. "Sni?"

"Hi," she couldn't help but whisper, smitten. He was adorable and perfect and hers if she could get him to accept her as a trainer.

"Sni," the snivy said dismissively, closing his eyes once more.

"I'm gonna be your new trainer."

He didn't even deem her worthy of a response this time around.

Ree tried the nice routine again, but for the last time. Smiling brightly, she leaned down closer. "You're a cutie. My name is Ree. We're gonna be awesome together, and we're going on a journey to get gym badges and shit."

He grunted and turned his back on her, crossing his tiny arms in front of him. Snooty was definitely a word to describe him. Ree sat back on her haunches and sighed. Plan B then. She reached over and grabbed his tail, hauling him into the air. The woman behind her made a sound that seemed like the lovechild of disgust and shock. Just to make the effect more potent, Ree stood up. She was tall, both for her age and gender, and she figured that being held upside-down by something several times your size would have to be scary.

"As I said, I am gonna be your trainer, mister snivy. So start listening when I speak to you." It was hard to resist adding 'bitch' to the end of it.

He thrashed and hissed, although more in embarrassment than anything else. He couldn't swing up enough to get his claws on her, however.

"Train. Er," Ree stressed, holding him up at eye-level.

He swung at her face, narrowly missing, fangs bared.

She dropped him. He squealed, but she caught him easily with her other hand, and held him right-side up under the arms. He immediately latched onto her hand, of course, biting down hard and drawing blood. He scrabbled at both her hands with his claws as well.

Ree took it stoically, even if it hurt. She wasn't sure the woman would appreciate it if she kicked him into a tree, after all. Eventually, however, it started to throb and he still wasn't letting go. Weren't they supposed to realize the error of their way and apologize by licking you or something? "Trainer, me."

"Sni," he growled, lessening his grip a fraction. Progress!

"Do that all you want. I'm bigger and stronger than you are. You know I could beat you into the ground if I so chose." That was mostly a lie. Most pokémon seemed to be pure muscle, and even by holding him, she could feel how strong he was. She definitely had size on him, but he could break bones with a well-placed smack of his tail.

The snivy finally released her from his jaws and stared up at her. His eyes were still lidded and bored, and there was a little smear of red near the corner of his mouth. She grinned at him, and reluctantly, he grinned back, revealing sharp fangs. "...sni, snivy," he said at last, nodding his pointed head once.

"Does this mean I pass?" Ree asked the woman with a wide grin.

"If... If he's decided..." She seemed entirely unable to comprehend that sort of approach. Ree was fine with that. She liked being unique. "Ahem, right then. Please, if you both would come inside..."

Ree and her snivy-to-be followed her, chattering in low tones to each other. She liked him already. He was snappy and didn't seem like he'd take any crap from anyone. Perfect. "This is gonna be a rough journey, and we're gonna have to sit down and have a talk at some point... soon. There are some things I have to explain to you."

"Sni!" he squealed. He wiggled up out of her arms, sliding easily from her grasp. She wasn't used to being unable to grasp onto fur or feathers. The snivy slithered around her shoulder and attached himself to the back of her head, digging his claws into her bushy hair. He was surprisingly light, so she decided to let him ride on her head for the time being. It wouldn't hurt to get off to a good start, anyway.

"I'm gonna have to name you, too."

"Vee," he snickered, swiping his tail by her neck.

"I swear, if you cut my hair, I'll skin you and make you a pair of boots," she hissed back. She knew full well what snivy were capable of. He swished his tail once more, but she couldn't feel any hair falling or anything else suspicious, so she let him be.

He chuckled again and crawled around on her head. She could tell that he was trying to dig his claws in, possibly to her scalp, but she couldn't feel a thing. Finally, her hair paid off. He only got comfortable when he was draped across her skull, tail pressing against her ponytail, snout on her bangs.

"I'll give you your pokédex and show you how to use it, and then you should be fine," the woman said. She seemed much more at ease back in the laboratory. She flitted from bookcase to computer to desk, heels clicking on the floor, hardly paying them any mind. Which was a good thing, since the snivy had decided to actively mess up her hair further. It degraded into a squabble rather quickly.

When she turned back to them, the snivy had latched onto her bottom lip with his teeth and had a claw full of her brown hair, and Ree was trying to pull him away, one hand on his tail and the other on one hind leg, nails digging into his scales. The woman wasn't impressed, and even less so when they both instantly dropped their hands. The snivy fell, caught himself on the bottom of her shirt, and crawled back up on her shoulder with a smug expression.

"...Right then. Are you sure you'd like to go through with this? There are other pokémon available to starting trainers."

"Oh, I'm sure. He's great. I like him."

"Of course you do." The woman sighed and adjusted her ponytail. "Well, here is your pokédex then." Ree took the little red machine with awe. Her snivy curled around her neck in order to see it better. "When you first turn it on, it will prompt you for your information and will ask to scan your trainer card. While you're doing that, I have to go retrieve his pokéball and get a few other supplies. I'll be back momentarily."

"Ah, okay." She was far too enraptured with the pokédex to pay much attention. She slid it open and pressed the little power button on the side, tilting it to look at the port just below it while it booted up.

The snivy jumped violently when it dinged. He peeked out from behind her ponytail, eyes narrowed to slits. "Vee," he hissed.

"Oh, it's fine. It's supposed to make that noise." She eagerly started going through the welcome screen. She entered in the date and time first, consulting with her dying cell phone. It then asked for all of the information it seemed like she'd been giving out all day—full name, gender, trainer ID number, height, weight, hair color, eye color. The snivy practically had his nose in the screen; he was obviously fascinated with it. "I'm telling it who I am."

"Snivy?"

"My name. You know—Ree. And how old I am, and a whole bunch of other stuff. This way it knows it's mine—ours."

"Sni." He turned back to it with large eyes.

After her information was processed, it asked for "STARTER INPUT".

"Wait, what?" She nudged the grass lizard out of the way and squinted at the screen. Hadn't she just entered that stuff? "Oh, don't tell me this thing is gonna crap out on me already. Stupid thing."

"Are you done?" She looked up to find the woman had returned. She had a pokéball in one hand and a bag of some sort under the other. Ree frowned and held out the pokédex. "Ah, you've finished."

"What the hell is it asking for? It won't let me type anything more or anything!"

"Here. Give it here, please." She put the pokéball in her pocket and took the pokédex from her, holding it at an angle to show her the side. "See this little circle right here?" She pointed to the port she'd noticed earlier. "You fit the pokéball of any pokémon you own, capture, or buy, and it automatically registers their species, pokéball ID number, height, weight—basically, all of the information it just asked you for. It's so much easier to automate that part."

"Ohh." She nodded, nearly dislodging the snivy. "How does it work?"

"It'll be easier to show you." She handed the pokédex back to Ree to hold and withdrew the pokéball once more, unceremoniously returning the pokémon. She then tapped the button once lightly, and it shrunk into its minimized form. She took the pokédex back, and aligned the button up with the port. "There is a ring around the button that fits into this—the black line that looks like an outline? All pokéball types have this, and that is how the pokédex scans the inhabitant." It dinged again, and the woman proudly handed both items to her.

"So..." Ree looked down at the pokéball, then at the pokédex. It was now requesting a nickname for the captured snivy. Eyes lighting up, she gleefully started racking her brain for name ideas.

"You'll have to buy any more pokéballs you desire on your own. We do, however, give you a day's worth of pokémon food for your starter—that's three meals. This should get you both started until you either buy more supplies on your own, or if you choose, learn how to live off of the land," the woman said with a smile, offering her the little bag. Ree winced and thought of her overstuffed backpack.

"Thank you." Into her shorts pocket it went for now. Her attention returned to the pokédex and name. Scott named his after famous singers, and she wasn't sure how Maya came up with her team's names. She wasn't sure about Aubie, either. She was terrible with names, and the excitement of finally having a named pokémon of her own wasn't helping that in the least.

She was dimly aware of the woman asking her if she had any more questions, and shook her head. She was even less aware as she signed an affirmative of her retrieval of a starter, agreement to becoming a trainer, and was herded out the door.